Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.14 EPS

Key Points

• Earnings beat: Sierra Bancorp reported $0.96 EPS, beating the $0.82 consensus by $0.14 and delivering a return on equity of 11.82% with a net margin of 20.96%.
• Dividend announced: the company declared a $0.26 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.04) with a yield of about 2.9%, ex-dividend and record dates on May 4 and payable May 11.
• Market and analyst context: the stock trades near $36 with a market cap of ~$475M and a PE of 11.6, and analysts show a consensus "Hold" with a $37 price target amid mixed rating changes.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Monday. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.14, Zacks reports. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.82% and a net margin of 20.96%.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Sierra Bancorp stock opened at $36.27 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Sierra Bancorp has a 12 month low of $24.06 and a 12 month high of $38.60. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $35.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.15. The firm has a market cap of $474.77 million, a PE ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.77.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on BSRR. Zacks Research lowered Sierra Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sierra Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total transaction of $189,650.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 302,970 shares in the company, valued at $11,491,652.10. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total value of $28,447.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,431 shares in the company, valued at $92,207.83. This trade represents a 23.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock worth $227,478 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSRR. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 71.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 24,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 10,046 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $784,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 60,262 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp NASDAQ: BSRR is a bank holding company headquartered in Porterville, California. The company operates through its banking subsidiary, offering a full suite of financial services to individual and commercial clients. With a community-focused approach, Sierra Bancorp emphasizes relationship banking and local market expertise.

Its core business activities include deposit-taking and lending. On the deposit side, Sierra Bancorp provides checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts.

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